


Resolve

by FamousWolf



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 10:52:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9120478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FamousWolf/pseuds/FamousWolf
Summary: While celebrating the New Year, Link inspires Rhett to make a resolution.





	

"To absent friends."

A chorus of "hear, hear" rang out from the dining room and breezed through the main level of the home until those at the farthest reaches repeated it without quite knowing why.  It was only one of many quick toasts that had sounded from the traditional center of communications, the kitchen. 

Around its white island, well-dressed bodies leaned against cabinets and each other, handing one another sparkling drinks and festive appetizers, laughing at raucous stories and debating the origins of their family traditions at this, the most indulgent time of the year.

Eyes that had arrived wide and lively were starting to grow heavy from liquors that went down with dangerous ease.   They narrowed and squinted at one another in attempts to focus on particular voices of interest.  Over the din of conversation, a signature laugh rang out, floating over the heads of those in the dining room from its source:  at the long oak table, covered in a pristine white and gold runner, two women huddled together in respective fits of laughter while mopping up the consequence of talking with their hands. 

"Oh, Lord.  Oh, we're going to get kicked out," the blonde giggled, pulling paper napkins out from beneath the drinks of oblivious bystanders.  "We should not have been left to our own devices."

"I'm going to stitch that on a pillow.  You'd think they would learn," the smaller woman said, dabbing at spilled champagne with one hand and the corner of her eye with the other.  They celebrated their unnoticed mess with a toast of their own.  They celebrated everything.

Every body in the house had contracted this easy-going energy upon entry, the hosts masters of the warm welcome, of making even the newest visitors feel at home.  It inspired people to sit on countertops and rest upon the backs of couches in ways they would never try in their own homes.  People felt encouraged to explore, finding trays of drinks on balconies and party favors in bedrooms, encouraging those who discovered them to stay, to strike up conversation, to enjoy the separation from the crowd for a bit before returning to the buzzing throng revitalized. 

Another pair had found the one space left unlit and free of decoration, the one with no fun to offer behind a door that did nothing to entice anyone to open it.  It was several degrees cooler than the rest of the home, its centerpiece a black convertible and a white SUV.  On the garage's far wall stood a deep freezer chest, waist-high and perfect for sitting upon while remaining hidden behind the vehicles.  This was convenient.

They'd been here before; it was a little tradition of their own.  Any time they found themselves at gatherings like these, at some point, they splintered from their groups and came together again somewhere else, pressing their bodies together in candlelit bathrooms, pawing at each other in darkened guest rooms, or, as they were now, peering at each other through the dim street light filtering through a garage's high windows. 

An isolated incident became an addiction, and here they found themselves again, leaving the crowd in need of some air and left gulping it in sharp gasps as teeth scraped angular bones and fingers dug bruises into backs, once-buttoned shirts long separated as cool hands sought warm skin.

"We should be in there," Link whispered into Rhett's neck.

"We should do a lot of things.  And most of them," Rhett argued, fingers tracing lines along Link's thighs where they rested on the top of the chest, "we do."  He punctuated his words with kisses to Link's neck, letting his breath send chills down his spine.  "And there are a lot of things we _shouldn't_ do.   Most of them, we don't."  As he closed his fingers on Link's hips and drug him to the edge of the chest, forcing thin legs to rest around his own waist, Rhett nipped at his earlobe, savoring the shiver he earned in response.  "We're really awfully good, aren't we?"

Link sighed, losing the last of his will to alter their trajectory.  He turned his head and caught Rhett's lips with his own, melting further with a smooth tug at his zipper and long fingers wrapping firmly around him. 

Rhett smiled as he touched Link, reveling in his quiet exhalations and the minute rolling of his hips as he sought more contact, more gratification, more reward for all the bad things he did not do. 

Much of their relationship had been spent in Rhett trying to get a rise out of Link, teasing him for this or that, and earning much of the same in return.  In response, Link had learned how to recognize Rhett's little pursuits of power and manipulate them in his favor.  He'd mastered the innocuous guilt trip, the backhanded compliment, and all the things that he knew could slip under Rhett's skin and sting in just such a way that, more often than not, forced him to give up his games.  He did not mind that his influence sometimes came in the guise of naivety and innocence.  He was a genius at playing dumb.

This was no exception.  He let Rhett drive him crazy, endured the nips at his jaw and the sliding of a smooth palm against his most sensitive skin, until the instant he decided that he wanted more.  At this point, he rolled his head back and exposed the length of his neck, leaning back on both hands as he groaned lowly, obscenely pulling the corner of his lip between his sharpest teeth.

It took only seconds for this wanton artistry to tear down Rhett's facade of control.  Link recognized the shift when Rhett pulled away, needing room to pull at his own fly.  He did not make it far before trembling hands took over, recklessly freeing him while Link slid down from his perch. 

"You don't have to..." Rhett protested meekly, shuddering at the sight of Link sinking to his knees. 

"Don't be ridiculous.  It's a holiday," Link replied smoothly, effectively silencing Rhett with a few flicks of his tongue.  At the combined feel of a wet tongue and cool air, Rhett filled his lungs, holding his breath and releasing it in slow rushes.  The receptive warmth of Link's mouth got him talking again.

"Oh my god," he sighed, allowing himself the luxury of raking his fingers through Link's hair, grinning at the vibrations of the moan it inspired.  "Oh my god, baby," he sighed again upon grazing the back of Link's throat.  He ignored the flash of uncertainty in Link's eyes, choosing to forgive himself for his utterance.  He'd learned a long time ago that in the heat of the moment, these things just poured out of him.  Link was still learning not to be surprised. 

From his knees, Link could close his eyes and enjoy the carnal objectivity of it all.  He could shove emotion aside and let adrenaline fuel instinct, hands and lips and teeth moving in unison to give and receive exactly what their bodies were asking for.  These conditions, hidden and rushed, were safe.  The danger lay in having enough time to truly think about what they were doing.

Unfortunately for Link, Rhett played dangerously. 

He, too, let himself be pushed to the edge, gasping and sighing as hands attended to all the places Link's mouth could not reach, squeezing the glutes he was all too proud of after scratching down his lower back.  Pulling away, Rhett cupped Link's chin and lifted him to stand, nearly tripping in his own unfastened slacks.

"Take 'em off," Rhett commanded softly.  Link furrowed his brow and turned around in the tight space, leaning over the chest and pushing his backside into Rhett's pelvis. 

"It works like this," he answered impatiently, resisting the suggestion of actually removing clothing for the occasion. 

In no mood for arguing, Rhett dropped to his own knees, untying Link's shoes from behind and yanking them off as Link laughed through his own protest.  After his shoes, Link lost his pants, and sighed in anticipation as warm hands separated his legs into a wide stance before pressing on his back, lowering him to lie on his arms.  He arched his back as Rhett palmed and squeezed his backside, then hissed at the intensity of a tongue sliding over the newly exposed skin. 

"God, it _is_ a holiday," Link joked when he finally caught his breath again. 

He fought the urge to roll his hips back and surrendered to Rhett's touch, biting into his own forearm when a long finger breached him, sparking a fire low in his belly fueled by his own clipped sighs.  As it slid through him, wetted by heavy drops of saliva that he couldn't help but picture falling from Rhett's lips, he lowered his right hand to wrap around himself.

"I know how it works," Rhett finally answered, pausing to bite the creamy skin just below a tattoo at which he strained not to look, "but forgive me for wanting something a little different."

With that, he slipped out and stood, pulling Link by the shoulders to turn him around, then directing him with a firm grip of his hips to sit on the edge of the chest again.  As they faced each other, Link's legs again instinctively wrapped around Rhett's hips for balance.  He leaned back on his elbows, immediately understanding the advantage of the freezer's height.

Rhett spent a torturously long while slickening himself while Link grew more anxious and agitated with each passing second.  He slid further toward the edge, resting on his left elbow while languidly running his fingertips across all that stood on display for Rhett.  But when Rhett finally aligned with him, sinking in sweetly, agonizingly slowly, Link froze, unable to focus on anything but the stretch of his body as it accommodated a most welcome addition.

He'd forgotten that his eyes had closed until they opened of their own accord, craving the sight of Rhett's face as he exercised impressive restraint, moving cautiously, timidly, until given permission to do otherwise.  Link tried not to hold it over his head, tried not to stall him any longer than necessary, though from this position, newly able to watch his eyes as they roved over his body,  Link had a hard time letting go of the wheel. 

But when he did, he cursed himself for not doing it sooner.  The second he nodded his assent, Rhett crashed into him with enough force to knock him backward.  Instead of hitting the surface of the freezer, though, Link felt Rhett's hands slip beneath his shoulder blades and pull him upward.  His own arms were coaxed around Rhett's shoulders, and the air slipped from his chest, too distracted by their new closeness to return in anything but a last ditch gasp.

Rhett wrapped his arms fully around Link's back, holding him tightly against his chest as he relished in the heat of his body.  As he felt Link's hand clench around the fabric of his shirt, he leaned their heads together, reaching up to bury his hand in wild dark hair.  Link leaned back into him, pawing at his back to draw himself impossibly closer, driven by a need that, when considered too carefully, terrified him.

"God, Link, you're incredible.  You feel so good," Rhett whispered hoarsely.  "I—" The thought died as soon as it was born.  Link wove his fingers into Rhett's hair and pulled in both want and warning.

This was not the first time they'd given in to the constant electricity arcing between them.  It had happened before. 

It had never looked like this.

From inside, a chorus of voices had begun to sing, some laughing, several slurring, some repeating the same line several times, trying to teach each other the words along the way. 

_Should old acquaintance be forgot..._

Rhett slipped his hand between them and took hold of Link again, matching his strokes with the rock of his hips, furrowing his brow in desperation at the helpless whimpers his efforts forced from Link's throat.

_and never brought to mind?_

Link dropped his head back, eyes glazing as they stared into the nothingness over their heads.  His chest heaved as he took breaths too shallow to fully fill his lungs, each drawing him closer to his glimpse of euphoria.

When he raised his head again, he caught Rhett's gaze with his own and instantly recognized the trouble they were in. 

_Should old acquaintance be forgot..._

With eyes closed or faces hidden, they could laugh this off, agree upon the wrongness of these collisions and swear that they were purely physical and therefore only a matter of will to abandon.  Weeks or months would pass and they could forget the indiscretion, each privately promising never to revisit such treacherous grounds, right up to the moment they found themselves pulling at each other's clothes.

But when their eyes met, Link could practically feel the pretense crumbling around them.  In Rhett's face he saw more than lust; he saw pride and hope railing against disbelief and reality. He heard the siren song of obsession daring him to admit the real reason he kept finding himself at the mercy of Rhett's gifted hands and relentless hips.  What frightened Link worse than any of this was the knowledge that Rhett could see the same and more in his own eyes. 

It was this flicker of a moment that convinced Link of Rhett's masochism, for as they stared into and through each other, simultaneously recognizing and ignoring all that could not be, Rhett bared his teeth and drove himself harder into Link.  He pulled Link closer still, holding him so tightly that he lifted him fully off the freezer as he threw himself into his climax, dragging Link with him by sinking his teeth into the base of his neck, muffling his own cry with Link's skin.

_...and auld lang syne._

 They held close as they caught their breath, Link locking his arms around Rhett's neck and staring blindly at the SUV behind him.

"We can't keep doing this," he whispered, swallowing hard and readjusting his grip on Rhett.  For a long moment, Rhett did not speak. 

"New Year's resolution?" he finally suggested, diffusing the tension with a joke.  Link's quiet laugh vibrated through him as he spoke.  "For 2017, I resolve not to tempt you.  Not to corner you and do this," he said, rolling his hips upward, then slowly withdrawing from Link with a suggestive groan.  "Not to hug you too tightly," he continued, unwrapping his arms carefully from Link's back, making sure he'd regained his balance atop the chest.  "I won't tease you," he whispered, brushing his lips along Link's jaw line one last time as he moved backward, pausing to hover over his dry lips.  "I certainly won't kiss you."

Tasting Rhett's breath, Link shook his head, committing to his role.  "I don't believe you."

Rhett scoffed and pulled back, swiping Link's clothes off the cement floor and handing them over.  "I always keep my resolutions."

Link stared up at him, waiting for the truth and smiling to himself when it never came out.

It took longer than usual, but once they'd reassembled themselves, they headed back toward the door.   With one hand on its knob, Rhett stopped and turned back toward Link.  He dipped his head, putting himself at eye level and watching Link's lips. 

Link interpreted it as a rare moment of sincerity, a request for a last kiss before cutting off such contact, so he let himself lean in.  Rhett immediately turned away, leaving Link to kiss his bearded cheek as he straightened.

"Sorry," he said, grinning at his joke as Link shook his head in an unspoken _Are you serious?_   "I promised not to tease you.  My bad.  Clean start.  Here we go," he announced, rolling his shoulders and opening the door.

Closing the door behind himself, Link watched him saunter back into the kitchen, trying to predict when Rhett would break his resolution.   When he finally followed suite, a stranger handed him a champagne flute for a toast.  Following the crowd's eye-line, he found Rhett raising a glass of his own, a profound expression on his face.

"Here's to all our resolutions," he announced.  "May we break them early and end our suffering." 

Link sighed a laugh, then lifted his glass toward Rhett and drank to the paradox.


End file.
